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X-Men (film)
X-Men is a 2000 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first installment in the X-Men film series. The film, directed by Bryan Singer and written by David Hayter, features an ensemble cast that includes Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Bruce Davison, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Ray Park, and Anna Paquin. It depicts a world in which a small proportion of people are mutants, whose possession of superhuman powers makes them distrusted by normal humans. The film focuses on the mutants Wolverine and Rogue as they are brought into a conflict between two groups that have radically different approaches to bringing about the acceptance of mutant-kind: Professor Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto. Development for X-Men began as far back as 1984 with Orion Pictures. At one point James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow were in discussions. The film rights went to 20th Century Fox in 1994 and various scripts and film treatments were commissioned from Andrew Kevin Walker, John Logan, Joss Whedon and Michael Chabon. Singer signed to direct in 1996, with further rewrites by Ed Solomon, Singer, Tom DeSanto, Christopher McQuarrie and Hayter in which Beast and Nightcrawler were deleted over budget concerns from Fox. X-Men marks the Hollywood debut of actor Hugh Jackman, who was a last-second choice for Wolverine, cast three weeks into filming. Filming took place from September 22, 1999 to March 3, 2000, primarily in Toronto. X-Men was released to positive reviews and was a financial success, starting the X-Men film franchise and spawning a reemergence of superhero films. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Casting 3.3 Filming 3.4 Design and effects 4 Music 5 Release 5.1 Marketing 5.2 Box office 5.3 Critical response 5.4 Awards 5.5 Home media 5.6 Sequel 6 References 7 External links Plot In 1944 German-occupied Poland, 13-year-old Erik Lehnsherr is separated from his parents upon entering a concentration camp. While attempting to reach them, he causes a set of metal gates to bend towards him, as though attracted by a magnetic force, before being knocked out by guards. Decades later, U.S. Senator Robert Kelly attempts to pass a "Mutant Registration Act" in Congress, which would force mutants to publicly reveal their identities and abilities. Present are Lehnsherr, now known as Magneto, and the telepathic Professor Charles Xavier, who privately discuss their differing views on the relationship between humans and mutants. In Meridian, Mississippi, 17-year-old Marie D'Ancanto accidentally puts her boyfriend into a coma upon kissing him, which is caused by her superhuman ability to absorb the life force and mutant abilities of anyone she touches. In fear, Marie, now going by the name Rogue, runs away to Laughlin City, Alberta. While at a bar, she meets Logan, also known as "Wolverine", who possesses superhuman healing abilities, heightened senses, and metal claws that protrude from his knuckles. While on the road together, they are attacked by Sabretooth, a fellow mutant and an associate of Magneto. Cyclops and Storm arrive and save Wolverine and Rogue and bring them to the X-Mansion in Westchester County, New York. They are introduced to Xavier, who leads a group of mutants called the X-Men, who are trying to seek peace with the human race, educate young mutants on their powers, and stop Magneto from escalating the war with humanity. Senator Kelly is abducted by Magneto's allies Toad and the shapeshifter Mystique and brought to their lair, where Magneto uses Kelly as a test subject for a machine that artificially induces mutation. Kelly uses his new mutant abilities to escape imprisonment. After Rogue uses her powers on Wolverine, she is convinced by Mystique (disguised as classmate Bobby Drake) that Xavier is angry with her and she should leave the school. Xavier uses his mutant-locating machine Cerebro to find Rogue at a train station. Mystique later infiltrates Cerebro and sabotages the machine. At the train station, Wolverine convinces Rogue to stay with Xavier, but a fight ensues when Magneto, Toad and Sabretooth arrive and kidnap Rogue. Kelly arrives at Xavier's school, but dies shortly after due to the instability of his artificial mutation, which causes his cells to break down into a puddle of water. The X-Men learn that Magneto was severely weakened while testing the machine on Kelly, and realize that he intends to use Rogue's power-transferring ability so that she can power the machine in his place, which will kill her. Xavier attempts to use Cerebro to locate Rogue, but Mystique's sabotage causes him to fall into a coma. Fellow telekinetic/telepath Jean Grey fixes Cerebro, and learns that Magneto plans to place his mutation-inducing machine on Liberty Island and use it to mutate the world leaders meeting for a summit on nearby Ellis Island. The X-Men scale the Statue of Liberty. Storm electrocutes Toad, and Wolverine stabs Mystique. Magneto transfers his powers to Rogue, and forces her to use them to start the machine. Wolverine knocks Sabretooth off the Statue of Liberty with the help of Scott and Jean. Storm uses her weather-controlling powers and Jean uses her telekinesis to lift Wolverine to the top of Magneto's machine. Wolverine saves Rogue when Cyclops knocks out Magneto, and destroys the machine. Wolverine touches the dying Rogue's face, and his healing and regenerative abilities are transferred to her, causing her to recover. Professor Xavier recovers from his coma. The group learns that Mystique is still alive, and impersonating Senator Kelly. Xavier tells Wolverine that near where he was found in Canada is an abandoned military base that might contain information about his past. Xavier visits Magneto in a prison cell constructed entirely of plastic, and the two play chess. Magneto warns him that he will continue his fight, to which Xavier promises that he and the X-Men will always be there to stop him. Cast Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X The mutant founder of the X-Men and the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, who hopes for peaceful coexistence between mutantkind and mankind and is regarded as an authority on genetic mutation. Although restricted to a wheelchair, his mutant powers include vast telepathy, which is amplified by the Cerebro supercomputer that he invented with Magneto's help.Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine A Canadian mutant who makes a living in cage fights and has lived for fifteen years without memory of who he is, apart from his tags marked "Wolverine" and an adamantium-encased skeleton (as well as adamantium claws). His mutant powers include enhanced, animal-like senses (enabling him to sense other people) and the ability to heal rapidly from numerous injuries, including the surgery that bonded the metal to his skeleton, which makes his age impossible to determine.Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto A mutant Holocaust survivor who was once friends with Xavier (with whom he helped to build Cerebro), until his belief that humans and mutants could never co-exist led to their separation. His mutant powers include powerful magnetic fields, metal manipulation, and a sophisticated knowledge in matters of genetic manipulation, which he uses to plan a mutation of the world leaders to allow mutant prosperity. Brett Morris as young Erik Lehnsherr Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm A white-haired mutant who teaches at Xavier's school. Although calm and caring, Storm has become bitter with other people's hatred for mutants, and while comforting a dying Senator Kelly, reveals that she sometimes hates humans because she is afraid of them. Her mutant power allows her to control the weather with her mind.Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey: The mutant doctor of the X-Mansion who is Cyclops's fiancée. Her powers include telekinesis and telepathy.James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops A mutant who is Xavier's second-in-command and the X-Men's field leader, as well as an instructor at the Institute. He is engaged to Jean Grey. His powers include a strong red beam of force shooting from his eyes, which is only held in check by sunglasses or a specialized ruby-quartz visor, which also enables him to control the strength of the beam to fire when in combat.Bruce Davison as Senator Robert Kelly An anti-mutant politician who wishes to ban mutant children from schools using a Mutant Registration Act. He is kidnapped by Magneto in a test of his mutation machine, which causes his body to turn into a liquid-like substance. He dies before Jean could save him.Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique Magneto's mutant loyal second-in-command, who seems completely facile with respect to modern technology. Her powers include altering her shape, voice and mimicking any human being, which is almost secondary to her role as "the perfect soldier".Ray Park as Mortimer Toynbee / Toad A very agile mutant and henchman of Magneto. His powers include a prehensile tongue, a slimy substance that he spits onto others, and enhanced agility.Tyler Mane as Victor Creed / Sabretooth A brutal and sadistic Canadian mutant mercenary and henchman of Magneto. His powers include a ferocious, feline-like nature, enhanced animal-like senses, fangs and healing abilities similar to Wolverine's, and claws extending past each finger.Anna Paquin as Marie / Rogue A mutant seventeen-year-old girl forced to leave her home in Mississippi when she puts her boyfriend into a coma by kissing him. Her powers include absorbing anyone's memories, life force, and in the case of mutants - powers through physical touch. Additionally, Shawn Ashmore appeared in a minor role as Bobby Drake / Iceman, a mutant student at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters who takes a liking to Rogue. His powers include generating ice. David Hayter, Stan Lee, and Tom DeSanto make cameo appearances. George Buza, the voice of Beast in X-Men: The Animated Series, appeared as the truck driver who drops Rogue off at the bar at which Wolverine fights.4 Other cameo appearances include Sumela Kay as Kitty Pryde, Katrina Florece as Jubilee and Donald MacKinnon as a young Colossus sketching a picture in one scene.56 Gambit was considered for one of the students at the X-Mansion. Singer remembered, "We thought about Gambit as the young boy on the basketball field, but the feeling was that if he has the basketball and then releases it and it exploded, then people would be like 'What's wrong with those basketballs?'"5 Production Development Drawing of an ape-man wearing trunks. He has huge, muscular arms that hang down past his knees. Concept art for Beast (before the character was deleted from subsequent scripts) by Industrial Light & Magic.7 Marvel Comics writers and chief editors Gerry Conway and Roy Thomas wrote an X-Men screenplay in 1984 when Orion Pictures held an option on the film rights, but development stalled when Orion began facing financial troubles.8 Throughout 1989 and 1990, Stan Lee and Chris Claremont were in discussions with Carolco Pictures for an X-Men film adaptation,9 with James Cameron as producer and Kathryn Bigelow directing. A story treatment was written by Bigelow, with Bob Hoskins being considered for Wolverine and Angela Bassett being considered for the role of Storm. The deal fell apart when Stan Lee piqued Cameron's interest on a Spider-Man film,10 Carolco going bankrupt, and the film rights reverting to Marvel.9 In December 1992, Marvel discussed selling the property to Columbia Pictures to no avail.11 Meanwhile, Avi Arad produced the animated X-Men TV series for Fox Kids. 20th Century Fox was impressed by the success of the TV show, and producer Lauren Shuler Donner purchased the film rights for them in 1994,912 bringing Andrew Kevin Walker to write the script.13 Walker's draft involved Professor Xavier recruiting Wolverine into the X-Men, which consists of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Beast, and Angel. The Brotherhood of Mutants, which consisted of Magneto, Sabretooth, Toad, Juggernaut and the Blob, try to conquer New York City, while Henry Peter Gyrich and Bolivar Trask attack the X-Men with three 8 feet (2.4 m) tall Sentinels. The script focused on the rivalry between Wolverine and Cyclops, as well as the latter's self-doubt as a field leader. Part of the backstory invented for Magneto made him the cause of the Chernobyl disaster. The script also featured the X-Copter and the Danger Room. Walker turned in his second draft in June 1994.14 Laeta Kalogridis,15 John Logan, James Schamus,4 and Joss Whedon were brought on for subsequent rewrites. One of these scripts kept the idea of Magneto turning Manhattan into a "mutant homeland", while another hinged on a romance between Wolverine and Storm.12 Whedon's draft featured the Danger Room, and concluded with Jean Grey dressed as the Phoenix.16 According to Entertainment Weekly, this screenplay was rejected because of its "quick-witted pop culture-referencing tone",17 and the finished film contained only two dialogue exchanges that Whedon had contributed.18 Michael Chabon pitched a six-page film treatment to Fox in 1996. It focused heavily on character development between Wolverine and Jubilee and included Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Beast, Iceman, and Storm. Under Chabon's plan, the villains would not have been introduced until the second film.19 Fox considered Brett Ratner as director,20 and offered the position to Robert Rodriguez, but he turned it down.21 Following the release of The Usual Suspects, Bryan Singer was looking to do a science fiction film and Fox offered him Alien Resurrection, but producer Tom DeSanto felt he would be more appropriate for X-Men.9 The themes of prejudice in the comic resonated with Singer.4 By December 1996, Singer was in the director's position, while Ed Solomon was hired to write the script in April 1997, and Singer went to film Apt Pupil. Fox then announced a Christmas 1998 release date.2223 In late 1997, the budget was projected at $60 million.5 In late 1998, Singer and DeSanto sent a treatment to Fox, which they believed was "perfect" because it took "seriously" the themes and the comparisons between Xavier and Magneto and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, unlike the other scripts.4 They made Rogue an important character because Singer recognized that her mutation, which renders her unable to touch anyone, was the most symbolic of alienation. Singer merged attributes of Kitty Pryde and Jubilee into the film's depiction of Rogue. Magneto's plot to mutate the world leaders into accepting his people is reminiscent of how Constantine I's conversion to Christianity ended the persecution of early Christians in the Roman Empire; the analogy was emphasized in a deleted scene in which Storm teaches history. Senator Kelly's claim that he has a list of mutants living in the United States recalls Joseph McCarthy's similar claim regarding communists.4 Fox, who had projected the budget at $75 million, rejected the treatment which they estimated would have cost $5 million more. Beast, Nightcrawler, Pyro, and the Danger Room had to be deleted before the studio greenlighted X-Men.1224 Fox head Thomas Rothman argued that this would enhance the story,12 and Singer concurred that removing the Danger Room allowed him to focus on other scenes he preferred. Elements of Beast, particularly his medical expertise, were transferred to Jean Grey.4 Singer and DeSanto brought Christopher McQuarrie from The Usual Suspects, and together did another rewrite.2526 David Hayter simultaneously rewrote the screenplay, receiving solo screenplay credit from the Writers Guild of America, while Singer and DeSanto were given story credit.12 The WGA offered McQuarrie a credit, but he voluntarily took his name off when the final version was more in line with Hayter's script than his.27 Casting Russell Crowe was Singer's first choice to play Wolverine, but he turned it down,4 instead recommending his friend, actor Hugh Jackman for the part.28 Jackman was an unknown actor at the time, while a number of more established actors offered their services for the role, with Singer casting Dougray Scott. Part of Scott's contract included a sequel, but Scott backed out due to scheduling conflicts with Mission: Impossible II in early October 1999.293031 Jackman was then cast three weeks into filming, based on a successful audition.32 Patrick Stewart was first approached by Singer to play Xavier on the set of 1997's Conspiracy Theory, which was directed by X-Men executive producer Richard Donner.33 James Caviezel was originally cast as Cyclops, but backed out due to scheduling conflicts with Frequency.34 James Marsden was unfamiliar with his character, but soon became accustomed after reading various comic books. Marsden modeled his performance similar to a Boy Scout.35 Eric Mabius expressed interest for the role of Cyclops. Angela Bassett was approached to portray Storm in late 1997,5 as was Janet Jackson.36 Anna Paquin dropped out of the lead role in Tart in favor of X-Men.37 Terence Stamp was considered for Magneto38 before Singer cast Ian McKellen, who acted in his previous film, Apt Pupil. McKellen responded to the gay allegory of the film, "the allegory of the mutants as outsiders, disenfranchised and alone and coming to all of that at puberty when their difference manifests," Singer explained. "Ian is an activist and he really responded to the potential of that allegory."33 Filming The original start date was mid-1999,39 with the release date set for Christmas 2000, but Fox moved X-Men to June. Steven Spielberg had been scheduled to film Minority Report for release in June 2000, but he had chosen to film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, and Fox needed a film to fill the void.40 This meant that Singer had to finish X-Men six months ahead of schedule, although filming had been pushed back.41 The release date was then moved to July 14.42 Filming took place from September 22, 1999 to March 3, 2000 in Toronto and in Hamilton, Ontario.4344 Locations included Central Commerce Collegiate, Distillery District and Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum. Casa Loma, Roy Thomson Hall and Metro Hall were used for X-Mansion interiors, while Parkwood Estate (located in Oshawa, east of Toronto) was chosen for exteriors. This estate was also the mansion in Billy Madison. For the train station scenes, Toronto Union Station and Hamilton GO Centre were set. Spencer Smith Park (in Burlington, Ontario) doubled for Liberty Island. A scale model was used for the Statue of Liberty.45 Post-production was a hectic process, with Shuler Donner saying that "we had to lock picture and score and edit, sometimes at the same time."46 Design and effects The filmmakers decided not to replicate the X-Men costumes as seen in the comic book. Stan Lee and Chris Claremont supported this decision. Claremont joked, "you can do that on a drawing, but when you put it on people it's disturbing!"9 Producer/co-writer Tom DeSanto had been supportive of using the blue and yellow color scheme of the comics,4 but came to conclude that they would not work onscreen.47 To acknowledge the fan complaints, Singer added Cyclops' line "What would you prefer, yellow spandex?" – when Wolverine complains about wearing their uniforms – during filming. Singer noted that durable black leather made more sense for the X-Men to wear as protective clothing,4 and Shuler Donner added that the costumes helped them "blend into the night".48 Oakley, Inc. provided the red-lensed glasses worn by Cyclops, a customized version of the company's own X-Metal Juliet.49 Wolverine's claws required a full silicone cast of Hugh Jackman's arm, and over 700 pairs for Jackman and his stunt doubles.50 It took nine hours to apply Rebecca Romijn's prosthetic makeup.51 She could not drink wine, use skin creams, or fly the day before filming, because it could have caused her body chemistry to change slightly, causing the 110 prosthetics applied to her skin to fall off.12 Between takes, the makeup department kept Romijn isolated in a windowless room to ensure secrecy. Romijn reflected, "I had almost no contact with the rest of the cast; it was like I was making a different movie from everyone else. It was hell."12 In the late 1990s, computer-generated imagery was becoming more commonly used. Singer visited the sets of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Titanic to understand practical and digital effects.5 Filming had started without a special effects company hired. Digital Domain, Cinesite, Kleiser-Walczak Construction Co., Hammerhead Production, Matte World Digital, CORE and POP were all hired in December 1999.52 Visual effects supervisor Mike Fink admitted to have been dissatisfied with his work on X-Men in 2003, despite nearly being nominated for an Academy Award.53 Digital Domain's technical director Sean C. Cunningham and lead compositor Claas Henke morphed Bruce Davison into a liquid figure for Kelly's mutation scene. Cunningham said, "There were many digital layers: water without refraction, water with murkiness, skin with and without highlights, skin with goo in it. When rendered together, it took 39 hours per frame." They considered showing Kelly's internal organs during the transformation, "but that seemed too gruesome", according to Cunningham.54 Music Singer approached John Williams to compose the film score, but Williams turned down the offer because of scheduling conflicts.55 Then Singer set on his usual composer, John Ottman.56 However, once Fox pushed X-Men from December to July, Ottman's commitment to direct Urban Legends: Final Cut made him unable to work with Singer.57 Michael Kamen was eventually hired. Given the film was only completed shortly before its premiere, Kamen wrote the score to the finished scenes, which were sent to him just as work was done on them. Singer asked him not to use any songs in the soundtrack as he "didn't want to date the movie".58 Due to Kamen's unfamiliarity with the comics, he only tried to "represent Bryan Singer's filmic tone that he's made, for a comic book, a quite serious movie, which is about the capacity of humanity to categorize people by race, religion or type, and prejudice people against them based on their innate characteristics". Character-specific themes were written to "identify these characters, as you go through the film, because they're not always clear." For instance, Mystique's motif, focused on the cello as Kamen found it "a very erotic-sounding instrument", played in the soundtrack as she was disguised as Wolverine.59 Due to time restrictions, the producers scrapped their original plan to record the score in London and did it in Los Angeles.46 X-Men (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Soundtrack album by Michael Kamen Released July 11, 2000 Genre Film score Length 104 minutes Label Decca Marvel Comics film series soundtrack chronology chronology Blade: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture (1998) X-Men (2000) Blade II: The Soundtrack (2002) No. Title Length 1. "Death Camp" 3:05 2. "Ambush" 3:26 3. "Mutant School" 3:48 4. "Magneto's Lair" 5:01 5. "Cerebro" 2:13 6. "Train" 2:35 7. "Magneto Stands-Off" 3:01 8. "The X-Jet" 3:47 9. "Museum Fight" 2:21 10. "The Statue of Liberty" 2:38 11. "Final Showdown" 2:31 12. "Logan and Rogue" 5:57 Release X-Men had its premiere at Ellis Island on July 12, 2000,60 two days before a wide opening in 3,025 theaters in North America.61 It would also debut in Australia that weekend to take advantage of the school holidays, while most other territories would get the film in August.62 Marvel Studios was depending on X-Men's success to ignite other franchise properties (Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Daredevil).63 Marketing On June 1, 2000, Marvel published a comic book prequel to X-Men, entitled X-Men: Beginnings, revealing the backstories of Magneto, Rogue and Wolverine.64 There was also a comic book adaptation based on the film.65 A console video game, X-Men: Mutant Academy, was released on July 6, 2000 to take advantage of the film's release, featuring costumes and other materials from the film.66 Box office On its opening weekend in North America, X-Men earned $54,471,475 in its opening weekend, a record for comic book films that far.61 The film eventually grossed $157,299,717 and made $139,039,810 in other countries, coming to a worldwide total of $296,339,527.2 X-Men was the ninth highest-grossing film of 2000.3 The success of X-Men (alongside Blade) started a reemergence for the comic book and superhero film genre.67 Critical response The film received positive reviews. Based on 166 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 81% were positive. The site's critical consensus reads: "Faithful to the comics and filled with action, X-Men brings a crowded slate of classic Marvel characters to the screen with a talented ensemble cast and surprisingly sharp narrative focus."68 Metacritic collected an average score of 64/100 from 33 reviews indicating generally favorable reviews.69 Kenneth Turan found "so much is happening you feel the immediate need of a sequel just as a reward for absorbing it all. While X-Men doesn't take your breath away wire-to-wire the way The Matrix did, it's an accomplished piece of work with considerable pulp watchability to it."70 ReelReviews.net's James Berardinelli, an X-Men comic book fan, believed, "the film is effectively paced with a good balance of exposition, character development, and special effects-enhanced action. Neither the plot nor the character relationships are difficult to follow, and the movie avoids the trap of spending too much time explaining things that don't need to be explained. X-Men fandom is likely to be divided over whether the picture is a success or a failure".71 Desson Thomson of The Washington Post commented, "The movie's enjoyable on the surface, but I suspect many people, even die-hards, will be less enthusiastic about what lies, or doesn't, underneath".72 Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said he "started out liking this movie, while waiting for something really interesting to happen. When nothing did, I still didn't dislike it; I assume the X-Men will further develop their personalities if there is a sequel, and maybe find time to get involved in a story. No doubt fans of the comics will understand subtle allusions and fine points of behavior; they should linger in the lobby after each screening to answer questions."73 He also gave it a "thumbs down" on Ebert & Roeper.74 Peter Travers of Rolling Stone noted, "Since it's Wolverine's movie, any X-Men or Women who don't hinge directly on his story get short shrift. As Storm, Halle Berry can do neat tricks with weather, but her role is gone with the wind. It sucks that Stewart and McKellen, two superb actors, are underused."75 Awards The film was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but lost to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. X-Men was successful at the Saturn Awards. It won categories for Best Science Fiction Film, direction (Singer), writing (David Hayter), costume design, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman) and Supporting Actress (Rebecca Romijn). Nominations included Performance by a Younger Actor (Anna Paquin), Supporting Actor (Patrick Stewart), Special Effects and Make-up. Empire readers voted Singer Best Director.4 Home media X-Men was originally released on VHS and DVD in November 2000, to take advantage of Thanksgiving in the United States. In its initial home video weekend, the film earned $60 million in rentals and direct sales, making it earn more than all films in theaters outside from leader How the Grinch Stole Christmas.76 X-Men finished 2000 as the seventh highest-grossing home release of the year with $141 million, with 78% being earned through sales.77 A new two-disc DVD version was issued in 2003 in anticipation to the theatrical release of sequel X2, titled X-Men 1.5. The DVD includes the theatrical version of the film along with the option to add deleted scenes, and several new additional features.78 X-Men was released on Blu-ray in April 2009, with bonus features reproduced from the X-Men 1.5 DVD release.79 Unlike the US edition, the UK release of the Blu-ray includes a picture-in-picture mode called "BonusView", and an in-feature photo gallery.7980 Sequel After the film's critical and financial success, a series of films followed starting with, X2 in 2003. References 1.Jump up ^ "X-MEN (12)". British Board of Film Classification. July 13, 2000. Retrieved April 29, 2016. 2.^ Jump up to: a b c "X-Men". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2008. 3.^ Jump up to: a b "2000 Worldwide Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 7, 2008. 4.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Hughes, David (2003). Comic Book Movies. Virgin Books. pp. 177–188. ISBN 0-7535-0767-6. 5.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "X-Men Archive". Comics2Film. 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"Hugh Jackman: 'Russell Crowe got me my Wolverine role'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2014-09-23. 29.Jump up ^ Michael Fleming (May 27, 1999). "Wahlberg a headbanger?; X-Men gets man". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2008. 30.Jump up ^ Michael Fleming (June 15, 1999). "X marks the Scott for Singer-helmed Fox pic". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2008. 31.Jump up ^ Michael Fleming (October 7, 1999). "NL scores Demme's Blow". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 32.Jump up ^ Chris Petrikin (October 11, 1999). "Aussie Jackman jumps into Singer's X-Men pic". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 33.^ Jump up to: a b Geoff Boucher (March 18, 2010). "Bryan Singer on 'X-Men: First Class': It's got to be about Magneto and Professor X". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2010. 34.Jump up ^ Jeff Otto (October 14, 2004). "IGN Interviews Jim Caviezel". IGN. Retrieved August 8, 2008. 35.Jump up ^ Scott Holleran (June 2, 2006). "Close-Up: X-Men’s James Marsden". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 36.Jump up ^ Janet Jackson (February 22, 2008). "Janet Jackson, personal choice as 'Storm'". Total Request Live. Retrieved March 22, 2009. 37.Jump up ^ Vanessa Torres (October 18, 1999). "Swain signs to top Tart for Interlight". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 38.Jump up ^ Eric Vespe (December 11, 2008). "Bryan Singer and Quint talk Nazis, Tom Cruise, Terence Stamp, Valkyrie plus an update on Superman!!!". Ain't It Cool News. 39.Jump up ^ Chris Petrikin (February 9, 1999). "Marvel, Fox pact for pix". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2008. 40.Jump up ^ Chris Petrikin (August 19, 1999). "Fox shifts actioner X-Men to June". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2008. 41.Jump up ^ Josh Walk (August 19, 1999). "Getting the 'Shaft'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2007. 42.Jump up ^ Chris Petrikin (September 16, 1999). "Fox shuffles X-Men and Anna". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 43.Jump up ^ Greg Dean Schmitz. "Greg's Preview - X-Men". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on August 21, 2007. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 44.Jump up ^ "X-Men filming locations: Hamilton, Ontario". Movie Locations. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 45.Jump up ^ Scott Chitwood (February 10, 2000). "X-Men's Sabretooth Scares Crap out of Kid, Toronto Set Visit, Wolvie Love Triangle, New Pics, & More". IGN. Retrieved August 10, 2008. 46.^ Jump up to: a b The Sound of Work Leaving L.A. 47.Jump up ^ Scott Chitwood (February 10, 2000). "DeSanto talks about X-Men costumes". IGN. Retrieved August 10, 2008. 48.Jump up ^ Suiting Up. X-Men First Class Blu-ray: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2011. 49.Jump up ^ New Eyewear for Cyclops Revealed in X-Men: Days of Future Past 50.Jump up ^ Kris Abel (October 26, 2006). "Making Wolverine's Claws". CTV. Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved October 26, 2006. 51.Jump up ^ Rob Worley (April 21, 2003). "Bryan Singer's Mutant Agenda". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved March 9, 2008. 52.Jump up ^ Marc Graser (December 8, 1999). "Seven f/x houses will share X-Men duties". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2008. 53.Jump up ^ FX2 Visual Effects, 2003, 20th Century Fox 54.Jump up ^ Piers Bizony (2001). Digital Domain: The Leading Edge of Visual Effects. Billboard Books. p. 143. ISBN 0-8230-7928-7. 55.Jump up ^ Bill Ramey (February 12, 2006). "Superman-on-Film". Batman-on-Film. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved May 22, 2007. 56.Jump up ^ Marc Graser (June 21, 1999). "Ottman adds helming other duties". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2008. 57.Jump up ^ John Ottman on Urban Legend: Final Cut 58.Jump up ^ X Marks the Spot 59.Jump up ^ Inside the X-Men 60.Jump up ^ "Ellis Island Premiere". X-Men 1.5, Disk 2 (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) 61.^ Jump up to: a b 'X-Men' Help to Rescue Summer 62.Jump up ^ X-traordinary bow 63.Jump up ^ Marvel takes cue from its superheroes 64.Jump up ^ "X-Men: Beginnings (Paperback)". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 9, 2008. 65.Jump up ^ "X-Men: The Movie (Paperback)". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 9, 2008. 66.Jump up ^ X-Men: Mutant Academy Ships 67.Jump up ^ Robert Levine (June 27, 2004). "Does Whatever a Spider (and a C.E.O.) Can". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). 68.Jump up ^ "X-Men". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 31, 2015. 69.Jump up ^ "X-Men (2000): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 8, 2008. 70.Jump up ^ Kenneth Turan (July 14, 2000). "Gen-X". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 8, 2008. 71.Jump up ^ "X-Men". James Berardinelli. Retrieved August 8, 2008. 72.Jump up ^ Desson Thomson (July 14, 2000). "X-Men: Tasty but Not Filling". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2008. 73.Jump up ^ Roger Ebert (July 14, 2000). "X-Men". Roger Ebert. Retrieved August 8, 2008. 74.Jump up ^ Ebert & Roeper Review X-Men on YouTube 75.Jump up ^ Peter Travers (December 10, 2000). "X-Men". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 8, 2008. 76.Jump up ^ DVDINSIDER: Sales And Rentals Of Twentieth Century Fox's "X-MEN" Xceeds Xpectations 77.Jump up ^ Year End 2000 Top video titles 78.Jump up ^ Conrad, Jeremy (January 24, 2003). "X-Men 1.5". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved 2014-10-12. 79.^ Jump up to: a b Boss, Nate (April 30, 2009). "X-Men Blu-Ray". High Def Digest. Internet Brands, Inc. Retrieved 2014-10-12. "The entire supplement package is a rehash from the 'X-Men 1.5' DVD release, so much so that the features function the exact same way, as Fox didn't take the time to create a Picture in Picture track. Wait, I take that back....they did. It's on the UK version of the disc." 80.Jump up ^ Gould, Chris. "Review: X-Men Trilogy (UK - BD)". DVD Active. Retrieved 2014-10-12. 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